What Could Have Been
by Ssnakey-B
Summary: Squall's mind forces him to consider what could have been. But one has to wonder. As good as what could have been may be, would it be better than what is? Made for the 2018 Successor Challenge


_'How did I get here? And why?'_ Squall asked himself, standing before the front door to what was the house his sister had lived with her biological parents. He peered down at his tiny, stubby hands, then back up to the house where it suddenly dawned on him how small he was by comparrison to the monumental dwelling before him. Squall couldn't put his finger on it, but something seemed off. He pressed his left hand against the door while turning the handle with his right. His small size gave him some trouble opening it along with it's awkward position, but it eventually began to slowly creak open. He stood in the doorway and scanned the inside of the house.

It looked the same as usual, yet despite the familiarity, Squall felt like he was discovering it for the very first time. He took in the smell of the old wood and the soot coming from the hearth, the sights of the antique objects, the pictures on the walls and furniture, the iron pans. Everything about it was ancient, but in a comfortable, reassuring way, much like parents seem to a child. Only the bullet holes in the wall opposite him broke the comforting aura the home. As he began to step inside, a voice suddenly stopped him.

"Squall! What are you doing here?" shouted his sister from behind him. He turned around and looked directly at her without saying a word.

"I've been searching everywhere for you! You can't just wander off on your own like that! What if a monster caught you? I know they haven't been coming into town any more, but still," she added.

"I'm sorry, Lellone," added Squall with his head down. "I didn't know where you were so I went looking." The girl held her little brother's shoulders and crouched so she could look him in the eyes.

"Aw, it's okay, Squall," she replied with a reassuring smile. "It's just that if something happened to you, mommy Raine and daddy Laguna and I would be very, very, very sad. So you gotta call at least one of us if you want to go outside, okay?"

 _'Mommy Raine and daddy Laguna'_ , Squall thought. Something about that excited him. He shook his head in agreement. His sister smiled back, relieved to see him cheer up again. She stood back up and took his hand.

"Anyway, do you want a snack? Mommy is preparing hot chocolate and toasts!" she asked.

"Yay! Let's go, Lellone!" Squall cheered. He started walking so fast it suprised the girl a bit, and she had to run up to him to catch up.

"And it's Ellone, not Lellone!" she corrected.

"Lellone?" Squall tried.

"There's no 'L' at the start. El-lo-ne," she instructed. She could see her brother's eyebrows furrow as he focused as hard as he could.

"El... lo... ne... Ellone!" he exclaimed.

"There you go!" she said with a giggle. Silence fell for a short while before Ellone spoke again:

"You know, Squall. I'm sure one day, you'll grow big and strong and you won't have any problem defending yourself. But in the meantime, it's my role as a big sister to keep you safe. That's why I get so worried sometimes."

Squall looked at her with eyes and mouth both wide open. He stared ahead to give it some thought, then turned back to Ellone.

"Alright. Then I promise I'll be strong for you!" Squall announced. "So I can defend myself on my own and you won't have to worry about me any more!"

Ellone smiled at him as they arrived at their mother's pub.

"I hope you do," she said. "But you know, I don't think I'll ever stop worrying about you."

Squall looked back at her. He was about to ask why when the door swung open before either of them could touch it.

"Hey, kids! I was just about to go looking for you," said Raine with her warm and reassuring voice. "Are you hungry?"

"Mommy!" Squall yelled in joy as he rushed her and grabbed her legs in a hug.

"Whoa there! You almost made me fall!" Raine joked. Squall kept holding her as tight as he could.

"Alright, let's set the table, Daddy will back any minute now," Raine continued.

The children acquiesced. They all went inside and started placing cups and plates on one the tables of Raine's bar. Porcelain clattered as it was drawn out of a cupboard and passed around. Among this jovial noise, the door once again swung open and an energetic voice boomed in.

"Hey everyone! I'm here!" it said. Squall immediately recognized the voice and turned to it, allowing him to see his father, his long black hair, his blue jacket and brown pants, standing in the door way.

"Hello, uncle Laguna!" chirped Ellone.

"Hi, Ellone! How is everyone doi-OOMPH!" Laguna flinched. Looking down, he saw his son embracing him, an ectstatic look on his face.

"Daddy!" Squall shouted as he grabbed his father. Laguna crouched down and petted his hair.

"Hey, kiddo! What's with all the excitement? Did you miss daddy that much?" he asked. Squall didn't reply but Laguna couldn't help but notice his eyes seemingly welling up in spite of his smile. "Is everything alright, Squall?" he asked. Squall nodded with enthusiasm.

"I think he's just having one of his affection fits," Raine reassured him. Laguna looked at the tale being prepared.

"I see I arrived at just the right time," he commented.

"Yeah," Ellone replied. "We're almost done. We just need some bread. Right, Raine?"

"Indeed," she confirmed. "Squall, would you be a sweetheart and gets us some from the kitchen, please?"

"Yes, mommy!" Squall excitedly agreed. He hobbled his way towards the kitchen, giddy at the thought of all four of them sharing a meal. As he went there, and odd sensation overcame him. He didn't actually recognize the place, and yet he knew exactly where to go. Before he could dwell too far on that, though, he reached the kitchen, and on the counter were several baguettes. He picked one up and went back to the main room.

But nobody was there.

"Mommy?" Squall called. No response.

"Daddy?" he tried. Still nothing. Trying to stay calm, he placed the bread on a table and yelled for them. "Ellone! Where are you?"

He started getting anxious. He rushed outside, looked around, and still didn't see them. "Mommy! Daddy! Lellone!" he screamed, but nobody answered. He would have asked the neighbours, but there wasn't any around. He started circling around the house to see if they were there. He arrived at the back garden, hoping they had just gone to watch the flowers, but they weren't there either.

"Everyone! Where did you go?" Squall pleaded, now increasingly worried. He continued running, hoping with each step that he would hear them call to him.

"Lellone! Lellone! Please!" he cried out, tears starting to form at the corners of his eyes. And once he made it back to the front door, he had to face the truth.

"They're gone. I'm all... alone" he said, his knees going weak. He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he woke up.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he looked around the room, he started to realize what had happened. He was in his room in Garden, on his bed. It was just a bad dream. And yet, the hurt was real. Lying in his bed, he brought his hand to his mouth. He closed his eyes and choked back tears.

 _'We could have been a family'_ he explained to himself. ' _We could have been happy together. Why couldn't we, dammit? Why did this have to happen? Why did we have to be separated?'_ Squall buried his face into both his hands, breathing heavily at the thought of what he could never have.

But then, he felt something brush up against him. He turned his head to his right and saw Linoa roll around and instinctively snuggle up against him in her sleep. Her quiet breathing and the feeling of her skin against his own calmed him down instantly.

 _'Oh, whatever. How do I know what we could have had? All I can know for sure is what I do have, and I couldn't have had it if I'd lived that life. Maybe I would have been happy then, maybe not. But I know I am now.'_

Squall rolled over onto his side to face Linoa and wrap his arm around her. As he drifted back to sleep, he made a mental note to call his sister in the morning.

* * *

Author's note: Another year, another Successor Challenge, another story! And yes, it's more fluff because I can't help myself. FF8 is my happy place. I wasn't sure I'd be able to do anything for it this year as I couldn't think of anything that fit the theme, but eventually, I managed to take an idea I already had and retool it a bit to fit. I actually originally conceived of this story as a comic, and considering it was almost completely silent then, it was a bit difficult to change it to be dialogue-based. I hope it did though, and that I managed to get the moral across without being too hamfisted about it, as I think this is an important theme of the game. Big thanks to Ubliveon for editing this a bit easier to digest, and for smoothing out any awkwardness due to English not being my native language.

As always, I spell Linoa's name that way as this is how it's spelled in the French version, which I grew up with, and I just like it better. Speaking of the French version, I also had Squall refer to Ellone as Lellone at first because there, instead of calling her Sis, he mispronounces her name as Lellone as a kid (which of course helps covering the implied twist).

I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it, make sure to read the other Successor Challenge submissions and please do not hesitate to review this story and offer tips and advice as it helps at all. See ya!


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